A specialized group within the industry were the shaftsmen, the crews responsible for driving the initial slope or shaft into a seam of coal. It was critical and very specialized work, for the drift and direction of the seam had to be exposed and the roadbed prepared for the miners who would follow. A poorly developed road would have adverse consequences for the entire life of the mine. The shaftsmen's job could be complicated by the accidental opening of underground springs of water or the encountering of faults in the seam which had to be by-passed. The shaftsmen in this photograph are suitably dressed for the wet conditions they encountered after exposing underground springs. The water had to be drained and pumped to the surface before their work could proceed. The last decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth were the most expansive for the industry and experienced shaftsmen were in constant demand. Consequently, they were among the highest paid and most mobile workers in the industry. The best of them were often experienced British miners, brought out specially to open new mines. Many of them moved subsequently to the Canadian or American West, following the constant ebb and flow of mining opportunities across the continent. Others settled permanently in Nova Scotia and provided a focal point for the organization of unions, a task for which they were especially favoured by their mobility.
Courtesy: National Photography Collection, Public Archives of Canada (PA-5351 4)
